Which life would you choose...

Here is a run-down of My day vs. Ken's

Stephanie
*Stayed up until 3 am filing our taxes, doing other paperwork, and talking on the phone with Ken
*Woke-up 3 hours later to get the boys off to school
*Left the house at 9 am to take Rose to pre-school, went to the Doctor because I have a Stye in my Eye, ran miscellaneous errands, and picked up Rose from pre-school
*Took the girls to James and Isabelle's house for lunch. Got to see Wyatt's cute smiles and catch-up with my friend Lisa
*Went to Wal-Mart to pick up snacks for the boys various afterschool clubs. Ginger is much-improved in her ability to stick by my side. She actually likes to follow quite closely right behind. I tell her she is my shadow and will abruptly stop or turn around and it makes her crack up laughing.
*Dropped off snacks at the school (just in time for the rain to pour way-hard, and got completely drenched). I do this every time they have Math Pentathalon practice because the dumb state law doesn't let the kids have treats during school, not even popcorn parties. So I try to get in all of the treats I always want to bring them at school during their after-school activities.
*Mailed a bunch of packages at the Post Office (Sister, Tasha, Jamie-- you've got surprises coming your way:-)
*Went back to the school and watched the boys kick-ball game. My poor boys lost again by one point. They are having a hard time with it. They have lost every game by one point.
*Dropped off my precious iPod to be repaired (it's going to take 4 days! I don't know how I will manage:-) Nathan dropped, stepped on, and smashed the glass plate on the front, thankfully the LCD screen is just fine.
*Made it to the Courthouse just in time. 5 minutes before they closed so I could turn in all the paperwork to dismiss my two tickets I got in September. I really do mean JUST-IN-TIME tomorrow they could have issued a warrant for my arrest. Yikes!
*Finally made it home at 6:30 pm for the first time since 9am. It was my pleasure to whip up a comforting breakfast for dinner meal.
*Plus, all the normal stuff of breaking up sibling arguments, dealing with tantrums, and herding a group of monkeys everywhere I needed to go:-)

And here is Ken's Day
*Woke-up at 7am, talked to Stephanie, was able to leisurely shower without anyone screaming or pulling open the shower curtain. The bathroom glistened. It's cleanliness astounds him, in fact he didn't have to stumble over a ride-on toy on his way to it:-) Ate a nice, warm breakfast at my hotel in Rome. Okay, so Ken wouldn't have said all that stuff because clearly since he is happily married to me and since we have our kids...cleanliness is not ever on his radar, but that's my imagination!
*Takes a Taxi to the company he is working with this week. Tries to not stress out about not being in control, not knowing what the road signs read, or the fact that every other day his taxi fare is 50 extra Euros then the day before:-(
*Has a pretty darn awesome day at work! His software worked flawlessly! He doesn't have to stay an extra week.
*Is wined and dined by the company he is working with, well, without the wine part:-) But, basically treated to all of his meals while still being given a $180 per diem each day.
*Is asked if he would be willing to stay the weekend and Monday in Europe on his company's dime so he can show up for a 1/2 day meeting in Paris on Tuesday. And he will still come home earlier then his pre-planned trip that was going to last 2 weeks.

So...Whose day are you jealous of??? Me or Ken?

Yeah, me too! I am so jealous of Ken right now! Not mad jealous, but that's so stinking not fair, you are so lucky kind of jealous!

But, if you were to ask grumpy Ken he would tell you-- He is WAY jealous of me! And totally not happy that he isn't coming home tomorrow. Even reminding him that he can have Haggen Daz every single day, three times a day-- like we did when we were in Paris last time barely made him not growl. Notice I didn't say smile, I really mean just not growl.

Anyway, my poor, tortured husband gets to go first-class on an overnight train (since the volcano dust has immobilized the airport) to Paris tomorrow night and stay in the AMAZING hotel we stayed in last time that is perfectly situated blocks away from the Arc de Triomphe, the Eiffel Tower, and Champs-Élysées. I'm just saying because I just booked all of his arrangements.

While I think this is all HUGE Fun and an amazing opportunity...Ken misses his family and he hates exploring on his own. Like H-A-T-E-S, he will do it though because I make him! If for nothing else so that way when he someday takes me to these places he has traveled too then he will be able to know if it is something I would or wouldn't like to see. And because he likes to buy us souvenirs. And because I will book a bunch of tours for him to go on over the weekend:-) For the record Ken loves to explore with his family but without us he is a Hermit Crab. As in he gets crabby and acts like a hermit.

PS- I think it is hilariously ironic that Ken is going on a trip to Paris just days after I picked up an absolutely riveting book about the Sun King at our local library!

***So of course, the very next day after I posted this Ken went to the train station only to find out that all train reservations were canceled and placed on first come first serve because they added a bunch of new lines and routes because of all the planes being grounded all over Europe. He waited in line for two hours only to find out that he could not get to Paris for another 3 days. With flights completely grounded he opted to take the first available flight from Rome back to the US. It just so happened that was 4 days later. And did Ken take in the sights??? Of course not! But I can't blame him it was rainy and he just wanted to come home.